LS3 Swap (In Progress)

[sgtskid]

Who needs PS anyway?

[beggs]

She's on the road! Got the steering shaft and it wasn't too bad putting it in. The first drive popped up a few problems though. To start the tires rubbed ALOT, then power steering went out halfway through the drive, and the driver side 02 was throwing a code. So when we got back we pulled apart the PS pump to clean it out and see what wrong. Turns out the rack from the junkyard was full of dirt and gunk. And that dirt and gunk dinged up the pressure regulator valve. So the burrs had to be sanded down then it was thrown back in.

Then we rolled the fenders. Which didn't take long at all. And that fixed the problem completely. haven't had a problem again.

After that I went to leave the shop and the PS failed immediately. But since PS isn't a necessity I drove home. And on the way home the motor started acting up. I was in fourth and gave it maybe 3/4 throttle and it acted like it was hitting the rev limiter or stuttered. I can't really describe it. And it was bogging down in low rpms. But I thought it was most likely the O2 since that was the only code showing. The next day we tore the pump back off and ordered a filter. This time we just cleaned the valve up a bit, didn't take the pump all the way apart.


Then we took it in for an alignment!

After driving it a bit after the alignment the PS started squealing a little bit. So we bled the rack and that fixed it.. for a little bit. On my way home it started squealing again. That will have to be dealt with tomorrow. AGAIN. I didn't grab any pictures of it but we replaced the O2 with a new one and that fixed the problem. But other than all the problems I just listed, it runs awesome! I'm afraid to floor in in first and second because I really don't want to have to replace the axels..

[beggs]

Great work, sounds great at idle. Loving the sleeper status too.

Thanks! But it turns out it idles like that because the MAF isn't calibrated for such a big intake. We had to get a restrictor that made it idle like stock.

Got the muffler in today! Finished up the exhaust. He is the final product:



Also, I took a proper exhaust video, here you can see that the restricter does wonders for the idle. The muffler quieted it down quite a bit but it's still loud. I don't think I will tamper with it anymore though.


There is a small problem with fuel pressure though. It's not sealing correctly, probably just a loose hose on the fuel pump or something. That will be tampered with tomorrow.

[Zacm829]

Great work, sounds great at idle. Loving the sleeper status too.

[beggs]

Nice tow rig ;) I used my Cherokee for the longest time until my trailer got bigger.

Sounds Awesome!

Yeah the thing could just barely pull the bimmer up hills!


Not much to do left. Just cleaning up wires. The muffler just got in today and the steering shaft just shipped from Cali.

[sgtskid]

Nice tow rig ;) I used my Cherokee for the longest time until my trailer got bigger.

Sounds Awesome!

[beggs]

That sounds bad ass!

What cam do you have in there?

Believe it or not it's actually a stock cam. It is pretty lopey but I'm not complaining !

[Q8y_drifter]

That sounds bad ass!

What cam do you have in there?

[beggs]

This is delicious! Dual 3" pipes eh? Shooting for some big power?

That's the plan! Bit hard to fit though.

Big day today! We loaded it on the trailer and brought it down to Under Pressure Power & Performance. Looks mean on the trailer.


At the shop.



Tuning.


And some more shots on the trailer.

First start! First impressions are: INSANELY LOUD! The straight 3" is way too loud. Muffler has already been ordered. I'm not sure how accurate an Iphone decibel meter is... but supposedly it idles at are around 90-95. But at this level it is not daily drivable. I will be pulled over every 20 feet.

[kalib0y]

Looking good, 3in pipes are loud btw...my car with dual 3in, highflow cat, x-pipe, resonators and muffler still idles at 89dbs :)

[varg]

This is delicious! Dual 3" pipes eh? Shooting for some big power?

[beggs]

Got the intake done, pretty tight fit but it's done.



After we got the intake in we put on the hood. There was so clearance issues with the top of the filter. Easily fixed.



Now it's just killing time until the steering shaft gets here. It's ready to be started, the only wiring left is for gauges. The exhaust is almost done. Just spot welded pipes into position that will need to be fully welded tomorrow. We fabricated a hanger bracket to the tranny. Just in case if I bottom it out on a speed bump it won't destroy my headers.

[beggs]

Got the exhaust all the way to the rear diff, the rest should be pretty quick. We almost just did a side exit right in front of the rear tire just to make it quicker. But I thought that would be way too loud. Rear diff also had to be raised by some spacers because of the driveshaft. Still have to figure out some more wiring.

[beggs]

lord i was at that step too, tried to crank it to build pressure and valve destroyed the piston :/

Thankfully that didn't happen to me.

so much easier if you get a mafless tune done. Don't need to position the sensor in the intake and you'll notice no difference in running (other than more power).

Thanks for the suggestion but since all the parts are bought we might as well run with the MAF.

Hoping I will be at that point soon. Great progress!


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Thanks!

Exhaust is coming together! The full dual 3" is making it hard to make sure there is good ground clearance.

Got the OBD2 port wired up and working, of course it's throwing a lot of codes. None of them are cause for concern.

Lower and Upper rad hoses are done.



Since they are done we vacuum filled the coolant system.


Wiring is still in progress, here is the mess so far... Only half a connector and some stragglers left to solder.

[90e30ls]

Hoping I will be at that point soon. Great progress!


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